Only a Flesh Wound
by KamikazeCreamPuff
Summary: Alice takes care of the wounds Hatter sustained from Dum and Dee, and they have a little chat.


**A/N:** This fic is supposed to pick up immediately after Alice reclaims the Stone, ending immediately before the scene in the Great Hall. I had too many questions: why was Alice so surprised that Hatter wasn't coming with her? Why did Hatter's wounds suddenly look so much better? ^_^ With that in mind, I worked really hard to try and keep everyone's characterizations consistent. Enjoy!

It was only after Alice raised her fist into the air, Stone of Wonderland safely inside and surrounded by cheers from perfect strangers, that she realized she really had no idea what she was supposed to do next. She managed to Jack's eye as he parted from the Duchess' embrace, sending him a pleading look.

He came to her aid immediately, ready to take charge. "Alice," he said, still smiling in amusement at the cheering Oysters around them.

She placed the ring in his outstretched hand. "How long until the Glass is activated?"

"First I'm going to make sure these Oysters are properly fed and healthy," he told her. "It might be too late for some of the older ones to live a normal life again – but I hope to have everybody home within the hour!"

The last part he yelled loud enough for everyone to hear, causing a fresh wave of cheers. He, the Duchess at his side, and the rest of the Suits began to herd the happy Oysters back to the Palace. Alice watched them go from where she stood – she wasn't quite ready to go back to the Palace just yet.

She heard a cough from behind her and turned around to see Hatter, eyes twinkling and a small half-smile, arms held out. Alice beamed and stepped into his arms to hug him fiercely, feeling honestly safe for the first time in a long time when he wrapped his arms around her and swung her gently from side to side.

"You did good," he said.

"So did you. The knife at the end, with the Queen, that was a nice touch." She tightened her fingers in the smooth material of his jacket and blinked the beginnings of tears out of her eyes. "Hatter, I'm really, really glad you didn't die."

She could feel his breath on the back of her neck as he chuckled into her hair, and he squeezed a little tighter. "That makes two of us."

Alice froze. "Oh no!" she drew back and grabbed Hatter's chin. "Your face! Hatter –"

"Ugh, I told you, it's nothing. Just cuts 'n' bruises, I've had worse."

But now that Alice was up close, she could see the cuts were still oozing slightly, covered in dirt and pieces of rubble from the Casino's collapse. She winced. "What happened to you?"

"Dum and Dee," he mumbled. Alice's eyes grew wide.

"Hatter!" she cried, fingers brushing over his wounds carefully. "What did they want?"

He paused. "You know," he said with a small laugh and a shake of his head, "I don't even remember. Something about the Resistance, I think – I was too busy trying to keep my mouth shut to remember why."

Alice's mouth drew into a thin line. "Hatter, we've got to clean you up."

"But—" Alice poked at one of his cuts, and Hatter hissed.

"Yeah," she said. "That's what I thought." She rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the crook of the elbow. "Let's go find a Suit, they'll get us some medical supplies."

**

It didn't take long to find a Suit, considering they were swarming all over the Palace. Finding an empty room somewhere took a bit longer; Alice drew attention wherever she went, and it made her extremely uncomfortable.

"Finally," she groaned, opening the door to an uninhabited bedroom. She dragged two chairs together and sat in one of them, pointing to the other. "Sit," she said, laying the supplies on a nearby nightstand. She turned back just in time to see Hatter's grimace as he sat down, one hand coming to rest on his stomach.

"Hatter?"

"It's nothing."

Alice's eyes narrowed. "_Hatter._"

He sighed and began to unbutton his shirt, looking resolutely at the wall. Alice's first unbidden blush at seeing his bare upper chest was forgotten as the injuries to his abdomen were revealed: the entirety of his lower torso was covered in thick welts and burns, angry red and shiny with the sweat of raw, broken skin. Alice felt sick.

"Oh, Hatter," she breathed, her stomach turning. "What was it?"

He swallowed, still not meeting her gaze. "Cattle prod, I think."

Alice took a shaky breath and reached for a clean cloth, dipping it in the bowl of warm water and antiseptic. "I still can't believe you rode in on a horse," she said, trying to lighten the mood. "Brandishing a sword and everything."

Hatter finally glanced over at her, smiling bashfully. "Well, it was all I had at the time."

"Still dumb, though."

He scoffed. "You're the one who walked into an open field to attract Mad March's attention, and you're saying what _I_ did was dumb?"

"What was I supposed to do? You wouldn't take me to the Casino!"

"I was just—" he growled in frustration. "Never mind."

"You were just trying to protect me," Alice said. "I know. But I don't need protecting."

Hatter scoffed again, but didn't say anything. They were both quiet for a minute as Alice started to wrap bandages around his torso.

"You know, there wasn't enough time, with the Casino collapsing and everything. I had to get us out of there." Hatter said abruptly, words rushing clumsily. "But… I am sorry about your Dad, Alice."

Alice's hand trembled slightly as she secured the last bandage. "It wasn't your fault."

"I know, but I'm still sorry." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Are _you_ okay?"

Alice drew in a shaky breath. "For now. I'm trying not to think about it, actually." She picked up a clean cloth and began to wipe some of the dirt off Hatter's cheek. "I'm just ready to go home, see Mom again."

Hatter shifted uncomfortably, although that could have been because Alice had started to apply antiseptic to the open cuts on his temple. "Yeah," he said with a brightness that didn't fully reach his face. "I bet. Home. Yeah."

"Earlier you said you were going to stay here, ally yourself with the Resistance," Alice said, reaching for the last bandage. "Are you still going to do that? Stay here, I mean?"

Hatter drummed his fingers on his leg nervously and shrugged. "I dunno. I feel… different, now. Y'know?" He looked up at her, expression pensive and eyes impossibly brown. Alice's breath caught in her throat momentarily.

"Yeah," she said. "I, um… I know what you mean."

The silence between them seemed to stretch endlessly – Alice's fingers were just grazing the place below his ear, where the last bandage had been laid, and his skin was warm under her fingertips, and she _did_ feel different, she'd couldn't remember ever feeling like this before in her life, and her heart was pounding so hard she was certain that he must be able to hear it, especially since all of a sudden she noticed that their faces were half the distance apart they had been ten seconds ago.

Alice yanked her hand back and started to clean up her supplies. "Well," she said.

"Yeah," Hatter said, his voice oddly high. "Well. Thanks, for, you know… my face."

"They'll be meeting to activate the Glass in twenty minutes," Alice said, the words tumbling out of her mouth. "Will you be there?"

"Yeah."

She almost dropped the bowl of water she was holding. "Really?" she asked, and the relief in her voice was evident even to her own ears.

"Yeah, I mean… well, I'll be there."

"Great."

Alice felt like she should say something else, since Hatter was sitting there with the oddest look on his face, sad and frustrated and confused, maybe? …but she didn't know what to say, so she just opened the door and made her way towards the Hall.

Hatter told her that he would be there, so she knew that… well. He would be there.


End file.
